Ice Tray Assembly

ABSTRACT

An ice tray assembly is described. The assembly has an ice tray with one or more ice object mold regions, and a filter configured to engage with the ice tray so that the ice object mold regions can be filled with filtered water. An ice tray assembly comprising: an ice tray having one or more ice object mold regions; and a filter configured to engage with the ice tray so that the ice object mold regions can be filled with filtered water.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Provisional U.S. Application 62/149,209, filed Apr. 17, 2015, titled “ICE TRAY ASSEMBLIES, COMPONENTS, AND METHODS,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to the following Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary ice tray assembly.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the exemplary ice tray assembly.

FIG. 3 is an alignedly exploded, perspective view of the components of the ice tray assembly, without a filter cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ice tray assembly, with the filter cartridge partially inserted, sliding independently of the components of the ice tray assembly.

FIG. 5 is an alignedly exploded, perspective view of an ice tray cover and an ice tray.

FIG. 6 is an exploded, perspective view of the filter cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various aspects of certain exemplary embodiments and is not intended to represent the only aspects of those embodiments. Each aspect described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration, and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. The detailed description includes specific details for providing an adequate understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Acronyms and other descriptive terminology may be used merely for convenience and/or clarity and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any steps in a method should not be construed as needing to be carried out, or needing to be carried out in the order listed, unless stated otherwise.

In this detailed description, the term “may” refers to something that is permissible. The term “can” refers to something that is possible.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to ice trays. Certain exemplary embodiments relate to ice trays that can filter water, thereby producing cleaner ice objects in the ice trays.

Many people prefer drinking filtered water because of a perceived better taste and/or perceived hazards of unfiltered water. However, these same people sometimes add ice formed from unfiltered water to their beverages, thereby exposing themselves to the same hazards they were seeking to avoid. One solution to this problem is to use automatic ice makers that include water filtration systems. However, these are too expensive for some users. Another solution is to fill conventional ice trays with filtered water. However, conventional ice trays are inconvenient and time consuming to use. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide better ways of making ice from filtered water. To address one or more of these and/or other problems, the present disclosure includes, among other things, one or more exemplary systems, kits, methods, devices, assemblies, and/or components related to ice trays.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of an exemplary ice tray assembly 100 is shown. The ice tray assembly 100 can be used instead of a conventional ice tray to more easily prepare ice objects from filtered water.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exploded, perspective view of the exemplary ice tray assembly 100 is shown. The ice tray assembly 100 can include an ice tray cover 200, a water reservoir 210, a filter cartridge 220, and an ice tray 230.

Referring to FIG. 3, an alignedly exploded, perspective view of the components of the ice tray assembly 100, without the filter cartridge 220, are shown. In the exemplary embodiment, water reservoir 210 can slide into ice tray 230 and form a substantially water tight seal at their mating edges. The ice tray cover 200 can also slide into the water reservoir 210 and form a substantially water tight seal at their mating edges. This water tight seal can be formed because the components interlock horizontally, when the long-side channel flanges of one component engage with the long sides of another component. As seen in FIG. 5, the ice tray cover 200 can also mate in a water tight way with the ice tray 230, without the water reservoir 210 and filter cartridge 220 being present.

In other embodiments, the water reservoir 210 can attach to the ice tray 230 with a hinged connection, by snapping or clipping on, or other similar means. The ice tray cover 200 can attach to the water reservoir 210 or the ice tray 230 with these means as well.

Referring to FIG. 4, a perspective view of the ice tray assembly 100 is shown, with the filter cartridge 220 partially inserted, sliding independently of the water reservoir 210, ice tray 230, and ice tray cover 200. This allows the filter cartridge 220 to be removed prior to placement of the ice tray assembly 100 in a freezer, enabling the filter cartridge 220 to be used as part of a second ice tray assembly 100. The water reservoir 210 can also be removed along with the filter cartridge 220 for use in the second ice tray assembly 100. When these components are removed, the ice tray cover 200 can be used to cover ice tray 230 (as in FIG. 5).

When the ice tray cover 200 is fully closed, it covers the water reservoir 210, filter cartridge 220, and ice tray 230, thereby protecting the water from solid objects, smells, etc. in the freezer.

In the exemplary embodiment, the filter cartridge 220 slides into the water reservoir 210 and also mates with ice tray 230. However, the filter cartridge 220 can also mate with these components by other similar means, such as through a hinged connection, by snapping or clipping on, etc.

In operation, the user fills the water reservoir 210 with water. The water then filters through the filter cartridge 220 and into the ice tray 230. The ice tray cover 200 can be slid over the water reservoir 210 after it has been filled with water, or the ice tray cover 200 can be slid over the ice tray 230 after the water is filtered and the water reservoir 210 and filter cartridge 220 are removed.

In the exemplary embodiment, because filtering is not instantaneous, the water reservoir 210 serves to store the water while it is being filtered. The filtering process can take 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness and other properties of the filter in the filter cartridge 220. The size of the water reservoir 210 can be calculated to enable it to store enough water to fill the ice tray 230, but not too much such that an ice sheet would form over the ice objects in the ice tray 230. In another embodiment, instead of controlling the size of the water reservoir 210, the water reservoir 210 can have a mechanism such as a hole at a certain level to let water escape, thereby preventing overfill of the water reservoir 210. In still other embodiments, where the filtering process is faster, the water reservoir 210 may not be necessary at all.

In one embodiment, the ice tray cover 200, water reservoir 210, and other components can be see-through, so that the user can, for example, see how much water remains in the water reservoir 210 after it has been filled. In another embodiment, the water reservoir 210 can be filled from the side instead of from the top.

Referring to FIG. 5, an alignedly exploded, perspective view of the ice tray cover 200 and ice tray 230 is shown. The ice tray 230 can have one or more ice object mold regions 500. In the exemplary embodiment, the mold regions 500 are tear-drop shaped. However, in other embodiments, the ice tray 230 can have mold regions 500 shaped differently. As non-limiting examples, the mold regions 500 can be shaped as ovals, cubes, etc., thereby enabling the production of differently shaped ice objects. The mold regions 500 can be made of a flexible material, which may be a different material than that of the ice tray 230. The flexible material of the mold regions 500 can allow them to be manually depressed to urge release of the ice objects after they are formed. In some embodiments, the mold regions 500 can have tapered sidewalls to facilitate release of the ice objects. In some embodiments, due to the flexible material of the mold regions 500, they can be depressed, taken out of the ice tray 230, and replaced with other mold regions 500. These other mold regions 500 can have a different shape, making it possible, for example, to have an ice tray 230 partially of tear-drop shaped mold regions 500 and partially of cube shaped mold regions 500. The mold regions 500 can have imprints on at least one of their surfaces, thereby allowing different shapes, logos, ornamental designs, etc. to be formed into the ice objects. The imprints can cause protrusions or depressions in the resulting ice objects.

In some embodiments, various components of the ice tray assembly 100 can be made of injection-moldable food-grade rubber, silicone, plastics, and thermo-elastic polymers. In one embodiment, the ice object mold regions 500 can be made of silicone, while the ice tray cover 200, water reservoir 210, some components of the filter cartridge 220, and the rest of ice tray 230 can be made of plastics. These plastics can be impregnated with a resin that makes the plastics biodegradable. An appropriate amount of resin can be added to the plastics to control their time of degradation. As an example, the plastics can be made to degrade over 10 years, thereby allowing sufficient useful life while at the same time reducing the product's impact on the environment.

Referring to FIG. 6, an exploded, perspective view of the filter cartridge is shown. In the exemplary embodiment, the filter cartridge has a top section 600, a filter 620, and a bottom section 630. The top section 600 has slots 605 and a rail 608 on both of its long sides, first cutouts 610 arranged in a pattern, and a tab 615 to facilitate removal of the filter cartridge 220 from the ice tray assembly 100. The bottom section 630 has pins 635 on both of its long sides, as well as second cutouts 640 arranged in a pattern. The slots 605 are configured to accept the corresponding pins 635. The filter 620 can fit into an underside of the top section 600, and the bottom section 630 can then be snapped into the top section 600 using the pins 635, forming a substantially permanent bond, thereby preventing the filter 620 from falling out. The rails 608 can engage with the channel flanges of the water reservoir 210, thereby allowing the filter cartridge 220 to slide into the ice tray assembly 100.

The top section 600 of filter cartridge 220 can help in dispersing water as it flows from the water reservoir 210. In the exemplary embodiment, the top section 600 has first cutouts 610 arranged in a pattern, through which the water can enter the filter 620. The first cutouts 610 can be appropriately arranged and sized to help disperse the water throughout the filter cartridge 220. The bottom section 630 has second cutouts 640 to allow the water, now filtered, to exit into the ice tray 230.

In one embodiment, the filter 620 can be a granular activated carbon filter made with wood/coconut fibers and the like. In other embodiments, the filter 620 can have properties to enable the removal of bacteria or viruses. As further non-limiting examples, the filter 620 can be a: metallic alloy filter, microporous ceramic filter, carbon block resin (CBR) filter, microfiltration membrane filter, and/or ultrafiltration membrane filter. The thickness, absorbing properties, material, etc. of the filter 620 can be changed to get different flow rates and filtering efficiencies. In yet other embodiments, the filter 620 can be flavored, thereby adding flavor to the water that passes through.

In one embodiment, the ice tray assembly 100 can be sold as a kit comprising two ice trays 230, two ice tray covers 200, one water reservoir 210, and one filter cartridge 220. This will enable a user to prepare twice as many ice objects, substantially simultaneously. For example, the user can use the water reservoir 210 and filter cartridge 220 to fill one ice tray 230, then cover that ice tray 230 with an ice tray cover 200 and place it in the freezer. The user can then repeat this process with the second ice tray 230 and ice tray cover 200, since the water reservoir 210 and filter cartridge 220 would be ready for re-use.

Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing sheets illustrating certain exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An ice tray assembly comprising: an ice tray having one or more ice object mold regions; and a filter configured to engage with the ice tray so that the ice object mold regions can be filled with filtered water.
 2. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, further comprising a water reservoir configured to contain water and engage with the ice tray so that water can flow from the water reservoir through the filter, thereby filling the ice tray with filtered water.
 3. The ice tray assembly of claim 2, wherein the water reservoir snaps onto or slideably engages with the ice tray.
 4. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter snaps onto or slideably engages with the ice tray.
 5. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein each ice object mold region has a portion configured to allow a user to manually deform the portion and thereby facilitate release of an ice object from the ice object mold region.
 6. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the ice object mold region comprises an imprint, thereby enabling a design to be formed into the ice object.
 7. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the ice object mold region is removable from the ice tray.
 8. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, further comprising an ice tray cover configured to engage with the ice tray and cover the ice object mold region.
 9. The ice tray assembly of claim 2, further comprising an ice tray cover configured to engage with the water reservoir and cover the water reservoir.
 10. The ice tray assembly of claim 2, wherein the water reservoir is made of a see-through material.
 11. The ice tray assembly of claim 2, wherein the water reservoir comprises a mechanism to prevent overfill.
 12. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter is an activated carbon filter.
 13. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter is a component of a filter cartridge, the filter cartridge configured to be removably engaged with the ice tray.
 14. The ice tray assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter comprises an additive for adding flavor to the filtered water. 